Halo: The Old Days, Part One
by Ron Jeremy For President
Summary: Before there was the Covenant, there were the insurrectionists. Before the Colonel was a Colonel he was a Lieutenant. Someone had to fight these guys face to face.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE - ALL IN

June 16th - 2514

The rotor blades roared as the the falcon squadrons comprising twelve aircraft carrying platoons three and four carried their payload towards their target. An insurrectionist fire base at the crest of the oncoming hill. The hill dotted by trees rose several hundred feet above sea level on a gradual incline and was in the middle of a wilderness on a small outer colony planet so distant from Earth that its population was under 200,000, and its capital was a small city that was really a glorified large town at the center of several granite quarries. This planet was only useful to the UNSC because of its granite reserves and was aptly named Granum IV (latin for Granite and three granite rich lifeless planets had already been established).

The distant planet had take the four ship battle group (consisting of a Carrier, two frigates, and a destroyer), a total of five months traveling through slip space to reach their destination. The troops, made up of men from the UNSC Army 82nd Airborne Fast Response Division were stowed in the flagship, the 'Winter War'.The UNSC was upping its game on its insurrectionist offensives, and was striking more frequently and at more distant targets. Granum had essentially been seized by an insurrectionist rebellion over five months ago, but thanks to a small spread out population there was little blood shed, more of a political coup. UNSC influence fell fairly quickly because their presence here had never been popular to begin with.

First Lieutenant Roux, leader of Third Platoon and mission command cocked his M6D sidearm and tapped his platoon second on the helmet. HIs friend, cousin and Sergeant Thom Chase turned to him.

"You ready to go in hot?", the Lieutenant asked.

"Hell yes. Can't wait to drop some innie scum", came the enthusiastic reply.

"Second Lieutenant Bowring, is fourth platoon prepped and ready we're about one minute out", the Lieutenant asked over his helmets intercom.

"We're all set to go. My demolition expert, Corporal McCoy's got the bunker busters ready for firing", came the static filled reply.

The Lieutenant look around at his own squad in the falcon from the rear seat. Sat opposite from him were PFC's Ryan Pierce and Miles Turner, good men and Miles of African decent with his dark skin seemed to be weathering the dreadful heat of this planet better than everyone else who seemed to be sweating waterfalls. To his left on the gun seat next to him was Corporal Sean Comoford. To his right, on the other gun, the Sarge. These men were the 82nd, the next rung below ODST, they were hardcore and ready to draw blood.

"Sir we've got multiple contacts sighted on the ground, stand by", the pilot stated over the intercom.

"Everybody ready. Lets give 'em hell!", The Lieutenant shouted.

"Hooah!", they shouted back, just audible over the blades.

"The incise are about to go crying to mothers once they see what we've got in store for them, because we don't give up and we're all in", the Lieutenant whispered to himself.

"We've got incoming fire, everybody brace yourselves!", the pilot called out over the intercom.

No sooner had the pilot called it, than the sharp staccato of automatic gunfire rang through the skies.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO - DRAWING BLOOD

"We've got incoming fire, everybody brace yourselves!", the pilot called out over the intercom.

No sooner had the pilot called it, than the sharp staccato of automatic gunfire rang through the skies. The falcon swerved left and right dodging reams of Anti-Aircraft gunfire and everybody clung to their handlebars, bracing themselves. The falcon recovered and continued on course.

Comoford and Chase powered up their chain guns and brought them to bare.

"Once we're in range light 'em up", the Lieutenant ordered to all the squadron gunners in the small fleet of craft.

Only seconds later the gunners began opening fire, loud bursts of 50 Caliber rounds began pumping towards their destination. They were now in a circling pattern around the granite firebase, whose white stone walls reached thirty feet high and had a base slightly wider than that of a skyscraper. There was an open courtyard in the center with an anti-infantry artillery piece in the center, which was currently dormant because they were attacking by air.

The fire bases had been established around in a twenty kilometer wide circle around a central citadel redoubt packed with artillery and anti aircraft guns. Platoons three and four were from Delta Company and Companies Alpha through Echo split up to eliminating the fire bases, before they joined up with Foxtrot and Zulu who were in reserve waiting to launch an offensive on the CItadel. ONI Intelligence was weak, it was had to get anything on a colony this remote, but as far as what they could find out their shouldn't be any surprises.

The Falcons were getting peppered by an assortment of small arms fire, including assault rifles, light machine guns, and bolt action rifles. They were still too distant to get an exact sighting of the weapons they were using, but everyone now and again the clank of a round punching the falcon's armor could be heard. Chase was facing the fire base and was fire bursts of round at the incise between the battlements. His powerful chain gun was blowing the battlements to pieces and knocking incise back off the wall into the courtyard. PFC Pierce readied his 99C-S2 Sniper Rifle and scoped in on the base. The base was centered on a round topped hill with a terraced incline leading up to it from all directions.

"Sir I count over forty hostiles on the exterior alone, granite's not letting me get a heat signature inside", the PFC called out.

"Take us down by the higher terraces", the Lieutenant ordered the pilot.

"You got it sir, prepare of landing", the pilot replied.

"All men prepare for landing, we're going in", the Lieutenant called out over his intercom to the other falcons.

The flacons began their decent in a circular crow-like pattern to the terraced hill surrounding the base, chain guns blazing. The guns created a steady stream of fire aimed at the base and because the battlements were only facing outwards, the falcon gunners had a clear shot at the men manning the walls from the rear as they closed in and circled the base. The fire base was littered with corpses and peppered with bullet holes and missing chunks of stone.

"I count eighteen definite KIA, and twenty-two seriously wounded at leasts", Pierce stated still peering through his scope.

The falcons were low enough so that they couldn't see over the battlements anymore. Now they governed several feet from the ground, the woos of the blades bending the grass backwards in a bubble around the aircraft.

"Go, go, everyone out!", the Lieutenant shouted.

Troops jumped out, their combat boots thudding against the ground and they rushed to take cover behind the first available terrace ledge. Just when the Lieutenant thought he was in the clear, he saw a an innie dressed in all black gear with a face mask appear from behind a battlement with a heat-seeking RPG.

"Pierce take him out!", the Lieutenant yelled.

Just as the PFC raised his rifle to scope in on him, the inn launched his rocket at the final falcon descending. It was Second Lieutenant Bowring's falcon, the leader of fourth platoon. The rocket slammed into the tail of the aircraft's tail causing a massive explosion, the force sending it into a slow spin just tens of feet above the groins. The shrapnel reached havoc with the falcon's blades and it seemed unstable bouncing left and right. Because it was over a hill, its loss of control sent took longer to crash as it swooned down the incline. When it was just under twenty feet from the ground two men jumped from the aircraft in a rolling dive. The flacon slammed cockpit first straight into a massive boulder shattering the glass and titanium of the cockpit and cussing the engine to explode in a ball of fire that engulfed the rest of the aircraft and a much larger secondary explosion incinerated it.

One bang from the PFC's rifle sounded. The Lieutenant looked back to see a smoke trail from the sniper to the blood-spurting hole in the innie's beck. The bastard slumped over dead on the battlement, a pool of crimson running down the white stone.

"I need a combat medic escorted by two men to get back to that crash site and check for survivors, everyone else proceed with the attack plan.", the Lieutenant order over the intercom.

"Fuck I wasn't fast enough. They're probably all dead", Pierce said kicking the ground.

"Don't worry son, stay focused on the job. They were soldiers, they know what they signed on for. Now get out there and kill some innie shits for 'em", the Lieutenant said slapping on the shoulder.

"Chase you got point. Pierce bring up the rear. Advance to the next terrace", the Lieutenant ordered.

Roux cocked his own MAX-66 Light Machine Gun (take an MA5B assault rifle, out a box 50 Caliber magazine box on the side, and attach a two pronged kickstand to the front) and brought it to bare. Chase pumped his M45 Tactical Shotgun with a grin. Pierce inserted a fresh round to his slip and slid it home, nothing like the sound of high power sniper rifle mag going in. Turner and Comoford cocked their MA5B Assault rifles. Nine of the remaining falcons returned to the Forward Operating Base for refueling and reloading, while two remained to provide air support. The two falcons rotated slowly around the firebase. Scattered gun shots could be heard coming from the chin mounted falcon chain guns but they were few and far between. That suggested the air assaulted with minimal casualties had taken care of most of the work.

"Sir, this is Lieutenant Bowring. Me and Corporal Parry escaped the bird in time. Thanks for sending help back. We've got some broken bones with a med evac on the way. Sorry we can't be of more use sir. You can coordinate with my second, Sergeant Allen West with second squad to lead fourth platoon", Bowring stated over the comm.

"Thank you Lieutenant, don't worry we've got it from here", Roux replied.

"West, do you still have the North and East sides covered?", the Lieutenant asked over the Comm.

"This is Sergeant West, the East side is gonna be a bit loos without first squad but we can handle", he replied.

"Good we've still got the South and West. Everybody move in. Mop 'em up", the Lieutenant ordered.

They climbed the next terrace, and the third until they were face to face with an open arch way surrounded by an external circle of sandbags.

"Is anyone there?", the Lieutenant asked, looking at Pierce.

Pierce took his scope and turn the heat-vision on.

"I've got four innies laying low beneath the sandbags", he replied.

"Turned get a frag in there. Now.", the Lietuenant ordered.

The PFC pulled the pin on his frag and tossed it. It landed behind the bags and several startled shouts rang out. One of the innies jumped out from behind them running towards the terrace drop-off. Comoford took aim and with a well placed shotgun round dropped him. As the frag banged sending smoke and shrapnel everywhere, several screams rang out.

"Move up!", the Lieutenant barked.

They jumped up and crouch ran in a semi circle towards the open arch way. Once they reached the sandbags they saw the bloody remains of three insurrectionists on the dirt ground. One was crawling away with the lower halves of his legs blown off, leaving a substantial blood trail behind him. The Lieutenant walked up behind him, pulling his M6D sidearm out.

"Just like a pathetic snail, we'll crush you", the Lieutenant whispered before putting a cap in his skull.

With a gesture the Lieutenant ordered his men to move up behind him. They followed him to the compound which had an all dirt floor and the vacant artillery piece in the middle. They took cover behind an assortment of crates by the archway.

"This is echo 929. We're returning to base, we're running low on fule. This is echo 638, we're right behind you", the pilots stated over the comm.

'Luck for us their's hardly anyone left without air support', Roux thought to himself.

"Sir I've three more whistles crouched behind north-facing side of the artillery piece", Pierce said.

Several bursts of automatic fire coming from the North side.

"Never mind sir, they're down", Pierce said.

"This is second squad, second platoon we're in the compound", they heard over the comm.

"This is first squad, first platoon we're moving in from the South followed by a couple more squads. Hold you fire everyone.", the Lieutenant ordered.

The platoons met up in the center. Several more shots rang out as a few remaining incise founding hiding behind crates were taken care of.

"Sir, we've got something over here", Chase yelled out.

The squad, the rest of the platoon and second platoon gathered around the ten-by-ten foot titanium square in the ground with a round manhole in the center just next to the artillery piece.

"Causality report", the Lieutenant order. One more dead, picked off from first platton third squad and two more injured one from 1st Platoon and one from second platoon.

"West, Call in a med evac for the injured", Roux ordered. He then pulled a combat engineer from second platoon and told him to get the titanium manhole cover opened.

"First and Second squads are coming with us down the rabbit hole. The rest of first platoon split up to cover the ground level entrances. Second platoon man the walls. And West get some air support over our heads. This was too easy, and I don't like it", everyone scrambled to obey his orders.

… Several minutes later and the engineer had sliced his way through the cover and opened it up. There was a shaft going down with a single ladder about thirty feet down and he could just barely see the concrete floor with the dim red emergency lighting.

"Chase your up. Lead the way. West stay in contact, your in command up here and I want progress updates on the other platoons and companies", the Lieutenant ordered.

"Yes sir, good luck down there", West replied.

"And here goes our decent in darkness", PFC Turner commented, before sighing.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 - DECENT INTO DARKNESS

The red glow of the back up lighting gave an eery feeling that seemed to crawl down the spines of first and second had moved down several corridors away from the sunlight of the shaft. They came to a titanium blast door and they stopped. Second squad was moving down the opposite corridor from the shaft, but they had dropped out of commas just over ten minutes ago.

"Comoford get up, see if you can break through this shit", the Lieutenant ordered.

"WIll do sir. It looks tough", he began playing with control panel. He ripped it off and began splicing wires.

"Eyes front men. There's likely inn bastards taking refuge down here. Pierce see if you can reach second squad while the PFC works on the door", Roux said.

"Lieutenant… Lieutenant respond. This is West… We're under fire up… The innies came out of camouflaged pill boxes surrounding the fire base… We're outnumbered and under heavy fire… Air support's on the way but just in case… Watch your six", Sergeant West's voice was pierced by static. The concrete walls were playing havoc with their radio comma systems.

"Shit. I knew this was too easy", the Lieutenant exclaimed out loud.

"West can you hear me?", the Lieutenant asked on the radio.

"Just about", West replied.

"I need you to contact the next incoming pilots to send out a broadcast to the other companies to watch out for surprise attacks. Hold your ground sergeant", the Lieutenant ordered.

"Will do sir, and don't worry they're not getting past us", West replied.

The feint echo of gunshots sounded distant coming from the open manhole shaft.

"Nothing from second, Lieutenant. Sorry sir", Pierce informed them solemnly.

"What the hell's going on with second?", Turner asked out loud, but he got no response.

"Pierce keep your weapon trained on our six, we've got company up there, its a counter attack and with second out of contact I don't want to risk it. Turner watch our six as well", the Lieutenant ordered.

"… And done", PFC Comoford declared with glory.

On queue the door slid open into the ceiling.

"Everybody in!", Roux shouted.

They charged the room. Chase was in first and dived for an inn that popped up from a table in the middle of the room with a Sub Machine Gun. The weapon fired, peppering the ceiling as he fell backwards. They began grappling on the floor as a second innie stood up from behind the table and trained his handgun at the Sergeant. Two bursts from Roux's LMG threw him back into the monitor in the wall behind him splattering it with blood. The Lieutenant turned to find an innie who was waiting next to the door coming at him with a serrated combat knife. He was too slow though and the knife caught him in the stomach under his titanium chest guard. The Lieutenant yelled out in agony as he plunged the knife in deeper. The man's eyes went wide and fell to the floor, a knife in the back of his neck. Comoford pulled his knife out.

"You can thank me later Lieutenant", he said with a grin.

"Room's clear", the Sergeant declared getting off the man who's skull had been beaten in with the butt of his side arm.

Comoford and Chase flanked the closed door on the opposite die of the room. Pierce and Turner entered the room and watched the open door they came in from. The Lieutenant examined the table in the middle and realized it was a holographic display. He flipped the main switch and a blue holographic diagram came up showing the underground layout of the tunnels they were in and realized they formed a web like pattern. He realized that all of the fire bases were connected to each other and the citadel via trams. Each fire base had a small command room under it like this one.

"This man here. He looked like the commanding officer of this base. He's got a Captain insignia on his uniform. The man with the knife by the door looks like an enlisted private. The other man with the pistol looks like a technician.", Comoford stated.

The Lieutenant took a small chip and inserted into the port on the side of the display table.

"If we go through there we should find a tram that'll lead us to the Citadel", the Lieutenant said.

"We gonna take it?", Turner asked.

"I'll relay this to command. Chances are they knew we'd be able to take the fire bases with barely a fight, so I think they'll know we're coming this way, in fact if I were them I might even be counting on it. No I'm going to recommend we blow them to prevent any escape attempts", the Lieutenant replied.

"Hang on sir, I don't understand something. Why doesn't the fleet just blow up this Citadel with a well placed MAC round from orbit", Chase asked.

"Command wants the intel. You don't get intel from charred ruins. This is one of the largest fortified structures the insurrectionists have ever recited, they're likely to have some sort of data stored there", he replied.

"Lieutenant… You there?", came West's voice on the comm.

"Yes Sergeant report", he replied.

"We've successfully repelled the counter attack. Casualty report is twelve more men KIA and thirteen more men seriously wounded. We've got med evac on the way now. We took a beating up sir, but all other platoons and companies have are reporting successful attempts to repel counter attacks. They hit us everywhere. Our Company CO, Captain Drake says well done on phase one and to prepare for phase two. You getting this?", West said.

"I've got it Sergeant thank you. Well done defending our position. I'm sending a data burst through our comma system that I need relayed to a pilot so he can send it back to the FOB. We've got a while underground network down her. Also tell Drake that we need men to clear out the underground command centers beneath each base… Oh and have you heard from second squad?", the Lieutenant asked.

"No sir we have not", the Sergeant replied.

"Get men to secure the manhole, we're going to search for them", the Lieutenant said.

"Good luck sir, out", he replied.

Roux hit a switch on his chip to send the data burst. But he felt feint, all of a sudden he stumbled backwards and nearly slammed into a terminal, but was caught by PFC Turner.

"Shit, sir! Your stomach!", Comoford shouted.

With the adrenaline from the fight, he had forgotten about his wound, but it was coming back now and he felt a lurching pain in his stomach. Looking down he realized that the olive drab fatigues under the dark grey titanium battle plates was soaked in crimson. Comoford rummaged through his medical pack, pulled out white bandages and began wrapping them around his stomach. He pulled out some biofoam and sprayed the deep stab wound.

"Lieutenant I think you got lucky. The wound missed anything important, you just got a lot of blood loss", Comoford said.

"Yeah… Real lucky… I though you needed blood..",the Lieutenant said drifting off into blackness.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR - ASSAULT

The Lieutenant came to, lying on the dirt compound of the fire base, confused and in pain.

"Ah shit, what the hell happened?, the Lieutenant asked.

"You've been out for just over ten minutes", Chase said sitting on crate, sharpening his bled next to him.

"Jesus… And second squad", he asked.

"Still no reply. We had to evac you, that was the priority I set being in Command of the squad", he replied.

"Well I guess if second squad was in trouble we'd be pretty useless if you guys had to drag my carcass around with you", the Lieutenant joked.

"Do we go in after them sir?", Chase asked.

"When do we attack", he replied.

"Orders came out from the Captain, we go in four", Chase said.

"We don't have time. Prep for combat. We'll have to come back for them after we complete the mission", he said.

"I understand", Chase replied.

"You seen my MA-99X anywhere?", the Lieutenant asked.

"Turner's got it", Chase said.

They boarded the falcon again. Comoford and Chase got back on the guns.

"You alright sir", Turner asked, looking the Lieutenant's olive drab fatigues, now drenched in crimson.

"I'll hold", he replied. He actually didn't know if he would, he lost a lot of blood. But there was no turning back now.

The flacon lifted slowly off the ground slowly, the blades hurling it forward and up. Soon they crested the treelike at the top of the hill and were looking down upon the expansive rolling hills dotted with trees.

Ten minutes of flying later the fleet of falcons came in audible range of the citadel siege. Artillery pieces sounded with deafening bangs. The birds flew over a small armada of warthogs with mounted chain guns and rocket launchers hurdling towards the massive circular granite structure. It had multiple curtain walls that got higher as you got deeper within it, with five layers. The walls were mounted with artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns.

A large bast sent two warthogs flying in random directions, knocking the the men crewing them out. Several squads of the light Scorpion tanks drove at the structure aiming for the guns. Pelican drop ships flew at a lower level, dropping troops at the base of the outer wall. A pair of short sword bombers streaked over head their loud engines leaving a ringing sound trail. A massive payload cause a whole section of the outermost wall and second wall to collapse in on itself taking several guns with it and leaving a crumbling pile for platoons of marines to scale.

Once in range Comoford and Chase aimed their chain guns and began firing, shells spilling out the side of the aircraft. A flurry of anti aircraft rounds missed them by inches as the pilot swerved left. The falcon next to them burst into flame and crumpled under combined anti-aircraft fire from multiple guns. Men flung out the sides screaming engulfed in flame as the carcass of the flacon plummeted tot he ground.

The pilot was attempting, at his best efforts, to gorge incoming fire but the guns were closing it. The flacon rocked as a round clipped the left wing's blades and several thuds could be heard as the bottom of the crave were struck. Another large well placed burst struck their tail fin. A ball of flame engulfed the tail fin as panels shot out. The flacon began spinning out of control, the sky outside began a blue blur.

"We're going in! Hang on", the pilot said over the intercom.

"No fucking shit!", Turner yelled out loud.

"Fuck this", Comoford yelled.

After thirty seconds of gut twisting spinning they smashed into the inner most wall against the battlement on the opposite side, cockpit first. Comoford was still firing his gun at the incise along the wall, keeping them pinned. Chase was slumped over unconscious, Turner took up his gun and began firing it. Pierce hopped out, sniper in hand, and sprinted for a nearby pile of crates. He slid behind them, bullets missing him by millimeters, striking the stone floor and metal crates around him. He popped up behind another crate and with two well placed shots, took out an artillery gun crew, to duck for cover again.

The Lieutenant jumped out, grimacing at the pain in his stomach. He looked around at the cockpit. It was a crumpled mess of metal, flesh, blood, electrical wiring, and flame. There was barely anything resembling a corpse of the pilot. He took the Sergeant from under Turner and dragged him to the crates being covered by the falcon's chain guns.

"Comoford get over here", the Lieutenant yelled.

Roux checked the Sergeant's pulse. Its was there. He was still alive. His team had survived the crash so far.

Another rack from Pierce's rifle and an encroaching innie went down. Comoford sprinted over from the far side of the falcon. Turner followed him soon after. Hunkered down behind the crates, they engaged an enemy that was encircling them slowly.

The falcon all of a sudden burst into flame, completely engulfing the two innies that were about to use at as a base of cover to attack them on their left flank.

"We need support now", Comoford yelled into the radio.

Clearly help wasn't coming though. A flaming pelican zoomed overhead and smashed into the central command tower in a massive explosion of debris and shrapnel. Slowly the command tower leaned and started collapsing backwards into the opposite side of the wall.

"Uh-oh, command wanted that tower intact", Turner stated.

"Well fuck it, its gone now", Comoford sneered.

Pierce fired off another round. Another innie fell dead. He was going into his weird meditative state, complete concentration. A grenade rolled by his leg and he was completely oblivious. Turner dove, grabbing it and hurling it away. They all ducked as it exploded in mid air, sending shrapnel in every direction.

They were cut off behind enemy lines, surrounded.

"I'm down to three clips", Turner stated.

"I'm running low myself", Comoford said.

"What the fuck happened to us?", the sergeant said, propped up against a crate, finally coming to. He held a hand to his head, feeling a sharp pain and pulled blood drenched fingers away. A steady stream of blood pored down the right side of his face.

"Two clips", Pierce said calmly with no emotion.

"Comoford get the Sergeant. Turner, Pierce keep 'em suppressed", the Lieutenant ordered.

The Lieutenant began rummaging through the crates one by one. He was going to be damned if his squad made it this far to get killed with their backs to a wall. Nothing useful, some medical packs, some food and water supplies. Then he hit the jackpot. A crate full of grenades. He counted ten. He tossed some to Turner and Pierce. On a three count they tossed three frags each and then the Lieutenant tossed a tenth. The successive explosions caught the innies off guard and left all of them deaf, including the UNSC troops.

With the innies quiet, the squad set up their weapons ready for the next onslaught. In another crate, the Lieutenant found rope with a grappling hook. With the incise still regrouping he poked his head over the side of the wall. Mentally measured the distance, compared it the rope. He dug the hook into the stone and threw the rope over.

Shouldering his LMG, he flung himself over so that he was hanging off the back side.

"Boy's were going down. One at a time now and careful", he said repelling down. There was still just under ten feet to go at the bottom so he jumped making sure to roll onto his side on contact. He signaled the next one down. Within minutes the entire squad was assembled at the base.

They formed a semi-circle at the base of the inner wall. Another sniper shot cracked off. The Lieutenant looked back to see Pierce's rifle raised skyward at the battlements. An innie who had peered over from where they had just been now lay summed over the battlement.

Roughly two hundred yards in the Lieutenant could make out the ruins of the crumbled command tower, which lay in a heap into the opposite side. Around the inside of the wall were various buildings including what looked look a laboratory, an engineering facility, an officer's quarters, a fully equipped Hospital, and an aircraft landing pad, half of which had been taken out by the command tower. The Lieutenant guessed that the barracks' were stationed around the outer walls.

"Lets get to cover now", the Lieutenant yelled.

He ran for the laboratory and his squad followed suit. They reached the building and took up positions at the door.

They got to the thin titanium door. One quick look over revealed weak and rusted hinges.

"Squad, prep for breach", Roux called out.

They set up by the door with Pierce and Turner facing outwards and the other three ready to pile in through the door.

"Three. Two. One. Breach!", he called out, before kicking the door down.

With the adrenaline pumping, everything went slow. Two inn guards posted by the door were not he ground, stunned. The Lieutenant raised his LMG and put a burst through the skull of the one on the left, sending a blood trail flying out the back. Chase zipped into the right smacking the other guard's skull to the ground before he could recover and then placed the barrel of his shotgun to his unconscious head, separated by millimeters of air. He pulled the trigger. Torrents of blod splattered across the floor and covered the Sergeant and bone fragments filled the corner of the room. A bloody heap lay where the guard's head had been a second before.

Scientists in white coats were scattering and hiding behind tables and computer terminals. There was a third guard by the opposite door on the far end of the room, his sub machine gun raised. Comoford came swirling around through the door. The guard fired several bursts, hitting Comoford square in the chest and in the neck. Raising his LMG, Roux sprayed the guard, peppering him and the wall behind him with a swath of bullet holes. The guard lay crumpled by the door, his blood pooling. The Lieutenant fired several bursts knocking down two scientists by hitting them in the legs. Three or four more scientists were too scared to move and the rest had fled through the opposite door.

Comoford lay in the doorway they had come through in. His face, neck and fatigues were drenched in blood.

"Fuck, I can't find a pulse! He's not breathing!", Chase yelled. The Sergeant pulled him back into the room.

The Lieutenant felt feint and had to steady himself with his hand on a computer console. He reached a hand down towards his stomach. His wound had re-opened and he was bleeding out through it again.

"Oh shit, we've got incoming", Turner yelled as he and Pierce charged through the door.

Turner took a table, flipping it on its side. and slamming it against the open doorway as a barricade. He took up a position there, aiming his assault rifle through the open doorway.

"We've got multiple security squads incoming sir", Turner informed the Lieutenant. A view out the window confirmed that report the incise descend upon them in platoon strength to retake their captured real estate.

Pierce smashed a window with the butt of his sniper. He then set the kickstand not the base of the window and took aim.

"What the fuck happened to Comoford?", Pierec asked, looking at his bloodied comrade.

"He's gone", Chase replied.

"Fuck this. What the fuck did we come here for? Huh? You fuckers want a piece of this shit!", Turner yelled fringe several bursts from his AR. He didn't hit anything, but he slowed their advance as they were forced to take cover and crouch down.

"Sergeant get the other entrance", the Lieutenant yelled.

Chase ran to the other door. He set up a barricade similar to Turner's. He brought his shotgun to bare and fired several warning shots on the encroaching squads sent to flank them.

The Lieutenant, now feeling dizzy took the blood splattered field medic kit from Comoford's back. He took out a canister of biofoam and sprayed it into his knife wound, feeling a sharp stinging pain. He took bandage and wrapped it around his stomach. He took an adrenaline needle and stuck into his arm to keep himself going. He felt a sudden burst and he was focused again. The sounds of artillery fire had mostly died down. Hopefully that meant help would soon be on the way.

"Don't you dare try anything funny!", the Lieutenant yelled looking at the scared and wounded scientists.

He heard three shots ring out from Pierce's rifle.

"Three more bastards down. That oughta slow 'em down", he called out.

Chase's shotgun rang out twice more.

"Fuck they're getting close!", the Sergeant yelled.

"The ladder! Get up the ladder now!", the Lieutenant yelled.

The Lieutenant slung his LMG on his back and readied his M6D sidearm. He climbed the ladder at the center of the room. He slowly opened the circular manhole. There was a technician with a side arm standing over a console, a guard looking at his comrades from the window, and a scientist by another terminal. He slowly put the manhole cover down, unsheathing his knife. He flung it hard and drove home into the back of the guard's skull, sending blood out in sputters. The technician turned rapidly, reaching for his gun. The Lieutenant put him down with two shots to the head. The scientist went for the door, Roux hit him in the leg as well.

Pierce followed him up, setting up his rifle on the next window and inserting his final clip. The Sergeant was up next and he stayed to guard the way up.

"Turner get the fuck up here! Now!", Chase yelled.

They heard several windows shatter.

"Oh shit they're on top of me! Of fu-", Turner was cut off as several frag grenades detonated followed by gun shots ringing out from the floor below.

Chase slammed the manhole shut.

"Watch our backs" The Lieutenant told the Sergeant, before going to set up by the windows.

Bullets could be heard ricocheting off the building as they got pounded from all directions. Roux fired his LMG, keeping the enemy suppressed, behind crates or other objects for cover. Four successive shots fired from Pierce's rifle.

"Four head shots. Four inn ass holes. Those were for Turner and Comoford", he bragged.

The Lieutenant wondered quietly to himself how he could fire so perfectly under such pressure, said a silent prayer in thanks, and went back to firing his weapon.

Pierce dropped his rifle and pulled out an M6C sidearm.

Shells clang tot he floor rapidly, as Roux spent his mag keeping the incise down. He spotted one making a run for the doorway to join his comrades who already made it inside. He sprayed the bastard, putting him down.

"Another one bites the dust, but I think you're still beating me Pierce", he called out.

Roux discarded his LMG, spent of ammunition and pulled out his M6D sidearm and began taking pot shots in between rifle bursts that kept him pinned down.

The Lieutenant took the signal grenade and threw out through the shattered window onto the balcony outside, sending a red signal flare, just incase help might be able to reach them in time.

All of a sudden, the manhole behind them burst open. Chase was sent flying into the wall behind him, his stomach bloodied with fragments and knocking him out.

Pierce and Roux turned to cover the entrance. Roughly a minute later an inn poked his head through and they both filled his skull with rounds. He fell dead to the bottom of the ladder. They both released their spent mags and reloaded.

"Ammo?", the Lieutenant called out.

"Last clip", Pierce replied.

"I've got only two", Roux replied.

"Are we fucked sir", Pierce asked.

"Not if help gets to us first. Otherwise I hear hell ain't too bad this time of year", he replied. He received a gruff laugh.

Flacons and Pelicans swooped into the center of the Citadel from above, firing chain guns into the ground troops sending them fleeing from cover. A falcon landed and dropped of a squad at the second level of the laboratory seeing the red flare. The soldiers lifted the unconscious Sergeant and the now waning Lieutenant who was beginning to drift off onto their flacon to be med-evaced, Pierce hopped on to man the chain gun to cover them. The squad that was dropped off began clearing the first floor of the building.

The last thing the Lieutenant remembers was seeing Pierce on the gun and Chase next to him in critical condition. He knew he wasn't doing to great himself, now that the adrenaline was wearing off. He slipped off into blackness.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE - JOB DONE

June 25th - 2514

The Lieutenants eyes opened, his vision and senses returning slowly. He was in the med bay of the UNSC Carrier 'Winter War'.

"Jesus man. Thought you'd never wake", The Sergeant said, smiling from the bed next to him, a bandage over his tomcat and the top of his head.

"How the hell did you get up before me?", he replied.

The doors to the med bay opened and the Colonel of their battalion walked in. The nurse tending to them left abruptly.

The Sergeant and the Lieutenant both saluted.

"Lieutenant, I've got bad news. The mission was successful, but your FOB was hit hard by a insurrectionist counter attack while your men were on the offensive. Your Company CO, Captain Drake as well as his XO other key personnel were hit. You did some great work out there. Vital intel was received from the scientists you incapacitated tanned the facility your team captured. You kept your men going behind enemy lines under severe fire. Congratulations Lieutenant you're receiving an accelerated promotion to Captain, you are a Company Commander now. You have a whole company of men that you are responsible for. They took a lot of hard to them", the Colonel stated.

He presented the recently proclaimed Captain with a pair of dual silver bars.

Several days later Roux, Chase, and Pierce stared out the viewport of the barracks quarters of 'Winter War', watching the small planet, Granum, fade as they drifted out ready to embark on the long journey home.

"This was really fucked up", Pierce said out loud.

"How so?", Roux asked.

"I mean the innies never build fortified structures like that. They prefer to use stealth and infiltration tactics most of the time", Pierce replied.

"It was also the first time I've seen uniformed incise, which I thought was even more fucked", Chase added.

"I mean its not like they seriously would've believed anything they built would be safe from UNSC forces. Even incise aren't that brain dead", Pierce added with a skeptical tone.

"Maybe they were trying to establish a legitimate rebellion with an actual public face to it?", Roux suggested.

"Well they did a pretty piss poor job of it", Chase commented.

"Amen to that brother", Pierce said with a grin.

"Anyways this shits way above our pay grades. Look I've got something more immediate for us to worry about", Roux stated, producing the silver Captain's bars.

"Say hello to your new company commander boys", he said with a smile.

"Hell yes! Congratulations cus!", Chase hollered, slapping him on the back.

"As Company Commander I get to decide who my NCOs are. Congratulations Lieutenant Chase platoon leader and Sergeant Pierce. The casualties we suffered mean accelerated field promotions to fill the gaps. Someone had to cover for my absence", the Captain stated.

"I'm going to get the men together in the rec room. Be there in twenty. OH and boys when we get back to reach we have a round for Turner and Comoford, those sons of bitches should be here with us right now", the Captain said.

As the newly appointed 2nd Lieutenant and Sergeant walked away, Captain Roux gazed out at the stars. He had a sinking feeling, like the worst of their combat days were yet to come.


End file.
